Google has updated its iOS Maps app with three new quick-access options that Android users have had access to for over a year now. The new tabs sit across the bottom of the home screen and are called Explore, Driving, and Transit.

Screen Shot 3 1

Swiping up on the shortcuts reveals further details. For example, in Explore users can find a description of the local area, dining choices, and options to search for gas stations, ATMs, convenience stores, drug stores, and other amenities.

The driving tab provides a traffic summary for the area, including information on possible delays that might add time onto a commute. This tab will also include current ETAs for the user's home and work addresses if they are saved in the app's settings. Finally, the transit tab offers estimated bus and train schedules at stations in the vicinity.

Google Maps can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

Aluminum213 Avatar
88 months ago
Imagine a world in which Apple allowed us to use Google Maps as a default map service on iOS. Instead of the harsh reality of being stuck with trash like Siri and Apple Maps as being the ones that are baked into the iOS system.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ILikeAllOS Avatar
88 months ago
Imagine a world in which Apple allowed us to use Google Maps as a default map service on iOS. Instead of the harsh reality of being stuck with trash like Siri and Apple Maps as being the ones that are baked into the iOS system.
Imagine a world in which you have to wait a year for a company to update that 3rd party maps app and then you'll realize why Apple has their own Maps app baked into the iOS system.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
88 months ago
Imagine a world in which you have to wait a year for a company to update that 3rd party maps app and then you'll realize why Apple has their own Maps app baked into the iOS system.
Imagine a world where one realized that default app choice has nothing to do with whether or not Apple has their own Maps app baked into iOS.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rrahimi Avatar
88 months ago
Imagine a world in which you have to wait a year for a company to update that 3rd party maps app and then you'll realize why Apple has their own Maps app baked into the iOS system.
That has nothing to do with the comment you responded too though. I guess you had to twist the argument because there is no good answer to the actual ask which is letting users choose the default, be it Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze or whatever.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
heov Avatar
88 months ago
Apple is being stretched too thin. They have too many products and services now, and some of them are suffering... like Maps and Siri.

In 20 years, at this rate, theyll be like Samsung in the sense they'll probably have fridges and appliances in addition to consumer electronics.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdelvecchio Avatar
88 months ago
Imagine a world in which Apple allowed us to use Google Maps as a default map service on iOS. Instead of the harsh reality of being stuck with trash like Siri and Apple Maps as being the ones that are baked into the iOS system.
give me a break. neither siri nor Maps are trash. ive been using them exclusively for years and somehow have managed to thrive
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
iPhone 7 Lightning to Headphone Jack Adapter

Apple Seemingly Discontinuing Lightning to Headphone Jack Adapter Introduced Alongside iPhone 7

Sunday November 17, 2024 12:33 pm PST by
It appears that Apple is discontinuing the Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter that it released alongside the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in 2016. The adapter was recently listed as "sold out" on Apple's online store in the U.S. and most other countries, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The adapter remains available from Apple in only a handful of countries, such as...
Apple TV 4K hero 221018 feature

It's 2009 Again: Apple is Apparently Reconsidering Making a TV

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:27 am PST by
Between around 2009 and 2011, it was repeatedly rumored that Apple would be releasing a TV, but that obviously never happened. Now, a decade-and-a-half later, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the idea is back on the table. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman briefly mentioned that Apple has been "evaluating" the "idea of making an Apple-branded TV set." He did not provide any further...